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Winners of the St Damien’s National School Competition Announced

The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts (SS.CC.) has announced details of the two schools that it has chosen to win the junior Essay Competition for 9-12 years olds and the colouring competition for 6-8 year olds. Both competitions were run to celebrate the life and times of St Damien the leper priest of Molokai in the Hawaiian Islands. Both schools receive a cheque for €500 towards faith development activities in the classroom.

The winning essay was chosen for its originality and honesty was won by Colm Flannery aged 12 of Bangor Erris National School in County Mayo. Due to the considerable number of entrants for the St Damien Colouring competition at the different ages, it was decided in the interest of fairness to have a lucky draw. The winning colouring competition entry goes to lucky entrant Daniel O’Sullivan aged 6 of Our Lady Queen of Peace National School in Janesboro, Limerick.

Fr Michael Ruddy, SS.CC. commenting on the award, said. “We were very pleased with the number and quality of the entrants to the competition from all over the country. It is our hope that the children benefited from learning about this inspirational member of our congregation and that they too will believe that they can make a difference to the lives of others. We hope also that the prize money will increase the opportunity for experiential Christianity in the classroom.”

The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts has just produced an educational DVD on the life of St Damien for use in classroom. The DVD provides an insight into the background, vocation and life of this inspiring individual who died from leprosy in 1889 on the remote Hawaiian island of Mokokai among the lepers he came to help. Fr Damien’s Feast Day is May 10th.

Many thanks to all those schools who entered.

New Educational DVD Launched on Life of St Damien

The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts has launched a new 30 minute educational DVD aimed at groups and/or schools seeking to learn more about the life of this inspiring Saint. The DVD details his background, his life in Belgium, his vocation to the Sacred Hearts and his life on the Island of Molokai reaching out in love to the lepers. Fr Damien de Veuster died in 1889 and was canonised on October 11 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI in Rome. The DVD is available from the Congregation, 27 Northbrook Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 for a suggested donation of €10 and €2 to cover post and packing. (£8 plus £2 from UK). More information
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Dublin May 13th- Support the Mozambique Missions - (16/4/2010)

Table Quiz in Aid of SSCC Mozambique Missions Thursday May 13th, The Steering Wheel, Main Street Clondalkin Dublin at 8pm. Tables only €20 for a group of four. Why not come along and support this very worthy project of Damien Mission Group, Sruleen. More information contact Mary
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Louvain Pilgrimage October 2010 (7/4/2010)

In October Sr Elizabeth Smith SS.CC is organising a short pilgrimage to Tremeloo in Belgium the birthplace of Fr Damien De Veuster SS.CC. The provisional date is depart to Louvain on the weekend of 29th October to visit the St. Anotnius Chapel and the tomb of Father Damian. Father Damien is known for his ministering to people with leprosy who had been placed under a government-sanctioned medical quarantine, on the island of Molokai in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He eventually contracted the disease himself, and is widely considered a "martyr of charity". Fr. Damien was honored with the title of De Grootste Belg, The Greatest Belgian in Belgian history. Father Damien died on April 15, 1889. On October 11th 2009, Pope Benedict canonised Fr Damien. For more information contact
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Cancer Cured through Prayers to Damien - A Walking Miracle (5/4/2010)

Vatican confirms that Father Damien interceded to cure Audrey Tugochi's leprosy. Here is the documentary on her life story and how an agressive cancer was cured through intercession of Sacred Hearts Congregation most famous member Fr Damien de Veuster. Click

Bishop Calls for End to detention of Children (29/3/2010)

Bishop Patrick Lynch, SS.CC. the Catholic Bishop for Migrants has called on politicians to commit to rebuilding public support for the provision of sanctuary to refugees in the UK, and to work to end the detention of innocent children and families for immigration purposes. Read More ...

Become a Fan of the Sacred Hearts - Join us on Facebook (29/3/2010)

Interested in keeping up to date on meetings, retreats and more day- to-day news? Why not join our virtual community on Facebook. For those of you that have not dipped into this world Facebook is simply a place where you as an individual can have your own personal webpage and use it to communicate with others via the equivalent of email and messaging. Simply click on the link and enter a username and password to begin the process. You don't even need to have a picture but it does help so that people can see who they are talking to! If anybody wants to publish or post particular items of interest, this is the place to do it.

Pope Benedict Urges a Return to Eucharistic Adoration (20/3/2010)

In the recent pastoral letter from Pope Benedict to the Irish Church the pope has asked that "particular attention should also be given to Eucharistic Adoration, and in every diocese there should be churches or chapels specifically devoted to this purpose." He goes on to ask religious houses and seminaries to "organise periods of Eucharistic Adoration so that all have an opportunity to take part. Through intense prayer before the real presence of the Lord, you can make reparation for the sins of abuse that have done so much harm, at the same time imploring the grace of renewed strength and a deeper sense of mission on the part of all bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful. "I am confident," he says, "that this programme will lead to a rebirth of the Church in Ireland in the fullness of God's own truth, for it is the truth that sets us free (cf.Jn 8:32)." This request is in line with the Congregation's own plan to offer more opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration to the public in its various pastoral communites over the coming year.

Damien Competition (5/3/2010)

€1000 to be won in Primary School Competitions

The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, (SS.CC.) has announced details of its competition to engage students at the various levels with the life of St Damien, ‘the leper priest of Molokai’. The junior school group aged from senior infants to the age of 8 will be asked to submit a colouring-in sheet found on the back of this newsletter. Those aged 9-12 years are asked to submit a two page essay on the importance of St Damien in today’s world.

Winners of the competitions will each receive a cheque for €500 towards faith development activities in their school. Closing date is April 9th. The winning schools will be announced on May 10th 2010 the Feast Day of St Damien.

New Appointment at Sacred Hearts (1/11/2009)

Shane Halpin has been appointed to the role of Vocations and Mission Promoter for the Ireland-England Province of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts in Dublin. (November 2009) Shane, who is the first lay-person to undertake this role within the Province, is a former public relations consultant and a Masters graduate in pastoral ministry from All Hallows College in Dublin. He brings with him a unique blend of experience which the Congregation hopes will help put them on the map with regard to their activities in Ireland and the UK.

Sister Anna Celebrates 50 Years in Religion Life

Sister Anna on the right with a past pupil ofthe SS.CC. School in Weymouth; Sr. JackieSmith is now a Sally Park nun.

This year has been a special year for Sr Anna Beirne SS.CC. On February 2nd this year she celebrated 50 years of Religious life and a landmark birthday in the year of Damien’s canonisation.

She says, “I feel very privileged. As I look back over those years I have much to be grateful for: God’s fidelity and the many ways I experienced him present n my life; during the difficult and joyful moments. Having lived through both post and pre Vatican religious life I have experienced both challenges and opportunities and many riches being a member of an International Congregation.

I served the mission of the Congregation in a variety of ways:Teaching in my early years of religious life; formation at different levels on Provincial and European level; caring for the elderly. My life was greatly enriched by working for a few short years with our sisters and brothers in what is now known as the Belgium Congo. And in more recent years I in the area of counselling and group work some of which was in rehabilitation centres in Ireland and England; I have received much from the Congregation and grown as a person and through those different ministries I hope I have shared something of the richness of our Congregational spirituality. While we live in a different reality today compared to when I joined the Congregation and vocations are few in our Western society I believe God continues to call and invite followers, and that our mission to contemplate live and proclaim God’s love is needed in to day’s world.

Reflections on Occasion of withdrawal from England Saturday (4th July 2009)

In the beginning there was a dream- A dream of spreading the love of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary - Hearts that would hold all in its love. And the dreamers held their vision, shared it with those who could hear from Pierre and Henriette to Damien and so many others. And the dream grew to reality and the impossible became fact. And more dreamers caught the vision, so that love was spread around France and from there to the Islands of the Pacific, the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. And the dream grew and spread despite difficulties, obstacles and doubts, lives were changed and values grew....That dream and those dreamers reached these shores in 1895 and after a difficult beginning moved to Weymouth and then in 1928 to Epsom ......114 years of fidelity to a dream! That dream changed direction many times and today we are witnessing another change as we withdraw our presence definitively from England.

As part of the ritual of withdrawal from England, the sisters made a pilgrimage at Easter, retracing the steps of those sisters who had gone before us, visiting the places where we had been present in Trowbridge, Weymouth, Guernsey and Daventry. This was a very sacred moment for our journey, we the "remnant" who must carry that dream forward. We were struck by the spirit of sacrifice and generosity that characterised the lives of the sisters in the early communities. These were women who in the depths of their being had sensed a longing to uncover the mystery of God's presence in their lives and to hand over this mystery of Love to future generations through education. They left home family and friends, sacrificed their own personal dreams, often never to return so that the Congregation would flourish and take root.

The presence of the Congregation in England has spanned the 20th century...a century that has known many changes in society and in the Church. One of the biggest influences on our lives has been Vatican 11 and its call to renewal..to allow the winds of change to blow through the windows and corridors of the church and religious life....Many of you here no doubt noticed that changes were happening at the time within the confines of the convent on the Dorking Rd. for the first time sisters were able to go out...before that it was only in an emergency...medical reasons and always accompanied!! Styles of habits changed and shortened (I am told that endless meetings were spent discussing how many inches off the ground, below or above the knee, etc..) This provoked another dilemma as the sisters discovered that they had no coats to wear to go outside with this new found freedom and so an S.O.S. was dispatched to Clones where Sr. Elizabeth lived, and where there was a farm. A cow was duly sold and from the proceeds, 3 coats were bought,...small, medium and large so that the sisters in the convent in Epsom could go out...and we have never looked back since!!

At that time, our Sacred Hearts brothers,( with whom we share the same family spirit and who have always been close to us and whom it seems were slightly more updated than us after all their training in the States) decided to help these women who were involved with young people but with no real contact with the outside world to become updated....A sortie was organised to the West End to see "Joseph and the Amazing Technical Colour Dream"...Bishop Pat here, a young priest at the time, was part of the organizing committee!! It can only be imagined the lengths the Sisters went to, to beg and borrow, clothes and "wigs" so as to appear in mufti!! Sr. Margaret Mary was heard say to Sr.Marie Lawrence as she tried to make her escape that evening, "but Sister you will swelter in that overcoat it is such a warm evening"A characteristic of all the places where we have been present has been the connection with the locality, the church and people of the parish. Many of our Lay associates who now faithfully carry on the dream witness to the seeds of life and love that have been sown over the years. Epsom here has been no exception and I know that an important part of life in the "convent on the hill" has been the interaction, relationship and friendship at many levels with you the people and priests of Epsom. Thank you for your love and support and fidelity over the years and the many changes we have been through.This is a sad time for us, having to make the decision, because of our numbers to regroup in Ireland, where we can better support one another. It is our hope and prayer that the spirit, the dream of those who went before us will live on in our lives in another way...take another form.

A recent reflection I read reminded me that "everything on this earth is dynamic. When one amazing sunset disappears for ever, another glorious sunrise appears elsewhere." It is our hope and trust as the sun sets on our presence and mission in England that there will be another amazing sunrise, the grace of a new beginning elsewhere.

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Thank you for being part of our lives